Doctor Who first aired on the BBC on 23 November 1963 and remains the longest continuously running science fiction television series in the world. The premise follows the Doctor, a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey who travels through time and space in the TARDIS — a ship disguised as a 1960s police box, famously bigger on the inside than out. The show’s most ingenious storytelling device is regeneration: when close to death, the Doctor transforms into an entirely new body and personality, a piece of in-universe logic that has allowed the role to pass between actors for over sixty years without ever ending the story.
The ‘classic’ series ran from 1963 to 1989 across seven actors in the lead role, from William Hartnell through to Sylvester McCoy, before a 1996 television movie briefly revived the character with Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor. The show returned properly to television in 2005 under showrunner Russell T Davies, with Christopher Eccleston taking on the Ninth Doctor before handing over to David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor, widely regarded as the definitive incarnation for an entire generation of fans. Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, Jodie Whittaker — the show’s first female Doctor — and Ncuti Gatwa have since carried the role forward, each bringing their own take to a character now well into his second century on screen.
David Tennant’s tenure as the Tenth Doctor, running from 2005 to 2010 alongside companions including Billie Piper’s Rose Tyler, Freema Agyeman’s Martha Jones, and Catherine Tate’s Donna Noble, is consistently ranked among the most popular eras in the show’s history, credited with cementing Doctor Who’s modern revival as a genuine global phenomenon rather than a nostalgia act. Tennant’s connection to the role proved so enduring that he returned to play a version of the Doctor once again in the show’s 60th anniversary specials in 2023, a rare instance of an actor stepping back into a part more than a decade after handing it on.
Few franchises carry the kind of multi-generational loyalty that Doctor Who commands, with fans often fiercely attached to ‘their’ Doctor depending on when they first started watching. Its merchandising empire spans TARDIS toys, sonic screwdrivers, and its iconic Daleks and Cybermen, whose distinctive design has remained instantly recognisable across more than six decades of the show. Its convention presence remains one of the largest in British genre television, with entire events built solely around the show and its ever-expanding roster of Doctors, companions, and monsters.
With the show continuing under a new global distribution partnership and still introducing new Doctors to new audiences, Doctor Who shows no sign of slowing after more than sixty years on air.
At Pioneer Signings, our Doctor Who archive currently features two pieces signed by David Tennant: a Tenth Doctor Funko Pop 221 and a TARDIS Funko Pop 227, both tied to one of the most beloved eras in the show’s history. Given how much loyalty individual Doctors and companions command among fans, this is a franchise with real room to grow, and we’re looking to add further Doctor Who signings across different eras of the show as our archive develops.
